Catherine Carter Weddings recently became a Millbridge Court Partner!  We loved working with her throughout the 2022 season and we have since caught up to give you a little glimpse into the world of a wedding photographer.

How would you describe your style of photography? 

Capturing both composed moments and raw emotion in elegant timeless frames.  I use a layered strategy, merging documentary, fine art style and a hint of editorial.

What first made you fall in love with photography?

I have always been an artist from a young age and loved exploring different mediums, painting, drawing and photography.  Photography won my heart, I love being able to create beautiful images from raw organic moments.

What made you decide to work in the wedding industry?

I am a true romantic and I love working with honest true moments.  I love each and every wedding I go to.  Seeing the individuality of each day from the dresses and suits to the flowers and the stationary.  There are so many layers to a wedding and to be asked to be a part of someone’s day.  Being trusted with those very important memories is a real honour.  Weddings are so much fun and it is such an exciting industry to work in!

Can you explain a little about what couples can expect when they book with you? 

My approach for each wedding is to put you at ease and get to know you well and find out what is important so I can capture your beautiful unique wedding story in a way that is right for you.  Whilst creating stunning photographs is my priority, I also wish to make the experience as stress free as possible for you and your family and friends.  You may see me popping my camera down for a minute and helping carry a dress, put a buttonhole on, straighten a chair or help a guest.  To me, this is all part of the wedding photography package and the top priority for myself and all of your suppliers is to make sure you have the perfect wedding you have dreamed of.

What is your favourite part or parts of a wedding day? 

I love the morning of a wedding, it is such a special part of the day for you to really soak in that the wedding is here and for me to witness all the excitement and happiness is so special. I also love the time for the couple photos, again it is such a special time where I urge you to take a step back and let the day sink in and have some time as a couple on your own. This is where the magic happens, emotions are high and by embracing that time together I step back and capture beautiful moments between the two of you.

What top tips and advice do you give to couples ahead of their wedding day? 

Embrace every moment and emotion! You have planned this day for many months and you have to let go of the day and enjoy each part, if anything goes slightly wrong it doesn’t matter, as long as the two of you get married everything else falls into place. Take that time to step back and let it all soak in.

What do you love most about Millbridge Court? 

I love the intimacy of Millbridge Court, it is such a stunning venue that keeps all of your friends and family close together. I also love the people that work there and the other suppliers that I often work with there too. Everyone always pulls together as a team and we all want the same – to create a beautiful day for you.

What photography trends are you seeing for 2023?

Blur-motion photography, which captures movement – these images especially in black and white can look amazing!

Veil shots have been very popular this year but I think it will carry on into 2023 especially those beautiful bridal portraits in the morning using the veil and creating those elegant artistic photographs.

 

Top L: Florist – Buds Floristry Bridal Attire – Flora Bridal – Bridal Indulgence MUA – Sophie Mills Bridal

Top R: Florist – Designed by Carley Bridal Attire – Enzoani Bridal Hair – Rebecca Elgar

Bottom L: Florist – Made with Grace MUA – Olivia Mills

Bottom R: Florist – Flower Pocket Bridal Attire – Enzoani from Surrey Brides MUA – Olivia Mills

L&R: Florist – Designed by Carley Bridal Attire – Enzoani Bridal Hair – Rebecca Elgar

Middle: Florist – Flower Pocket Bridal Attire – Enzoani from Surrey Brides MUA – Olivia Mills

Florist – Buds Floristry Bridal Attire – Flora Bridal – Bridal Indulgence MUA – Sophie Mills Bridal

We first met Dan & Alex in February 2019 and after many postponements, we are beyond thrilled to say we finally hosted their special day at Millbridge Court in August this year!

With creative input from Alex, who sparked the big ideas, and Project Manager, Dan, taking the lead on the organisation, we knew the day would be carefully curated with every detail given thought.

We caught up with them to share with you a little glimpse of their journey.

Let’s start at the beginning, how did you two meet?

We met at Southampton University – Alex used to be in the musical theatre society alongside one of my housemates and so I got dragged along to watch their version of ‘Wicked,’ it was there I first laid eyes on Alex and knew I wanted to meet him properly!  Once we’d started talking, we very quickly became inseparable.

So when you had decided on forever, why did you choose Millbridge Court?

Millbridge Court was actually the first venue we visited.  We loved it straight away, the high glass fronted ceremony and reception rooms, the grounds, the staff, the relationship with Kalm Kitchen and the fact it lends itself to your own styling suited us perfectly.  Though as we were yet to see any other venues in person at this stage, we held fire on a booking and continued with other viewings.  At each venue we found ourselves constantly comparing back to Millbridge Court, or looking for ways to reshape how that venue worked to make it more like MC and so quickly realised that it was the one for us!  It couldn’t have been a better decision as everything came together even more perfectly than we could have hoped.

We loved working with you on your wedding journey!  Tell us a bit about what inspired your day.

As a same sex couple, we knew there were elements of the day that weren’t as traditional as you may see at other weddings.  We wanted to make the day our own while nodding to tradition where we felt we could – for instance, we each had three ‘Groomsmaids’ and our Mums walked us down the aisle.

The food was a big thing for us and the highlight has to be our starter.  We got engaged in Hong Kong and wanted to include an element in our day inspired by the city.  Kalm Kitchen created a Dim Sum dish which was absolutely delicious and something our guests really enjoyed, especially as it was a little unusual for a wedding breakfast!

We tried to give some thought to the little details that could make the day feel a bit different to weddings people had been to before (no easy task as people are so creative and have thought of almost everything!).  We managed to include a sky banner, timed to go over during the drinks reception which made for some amazing photos, and with the money paid being donated to charity, it was a win all round.  A ‘Lip Sync For Your Life’ sign complete with 5 toy microphones was also great fun in the evening and helped people get even further into the party mood!

Tell us more about your suppliers and why you chose them.

We found the MC recommended suppliers list and attending the ‘Details Date Night’ so useful, it’s where we met a number of our suppliers!

Our florist, Alice at Meadowfolk, did an EXCEPTIONAL job!  The installation at the end of the aisle was absolutely stunning and everything she did exceed our expectations.  On top of this, she was also the most lovely, calming and reassuring person to have involved in the day and came up with so many of the ideas we managed to include.

Matt Tyler is the most incredible photographer and we never had the slightest doubt in him capturing photos we would love.  We were introduced to him by some friends who had booked him previously and we felt there was no comparison between his work and any others we looked at.  He was also a remarkably calming presence on the day.

Kate and Dave were the most incredible duo, who played during our ceremony and drinks reception. We deliberated for a LONG time over the song to walk down the aisle to and had toyed with ‘Two in a Million’, but worried a song by S Club 7 would come off as a bit cheesy – Kate sang it beautifully and the acoustic version they put together was perfection.  With people not quite able to place the song but loving the meaning behind the lyrics – exactly what we hoped for!

Forever Cakes designed and delivered the most incredible, delicious 5 tier wedding cake.  Karl at Moment Weddings captured the perfect video of the day so we can continue to relive it in years to come.  Simon Alexander entertained the guests with magic during the drinks reception (and got RAVE reviews from our guests!).  Caz Watts designed all our stationary and had so much patience as we made (a rather high number of) tweaks!  We found Bubblegum Balloons‘ ceiling installation in the dining hall a brilliant way to fill the space with extra colour and their team are also incredibly friendly.  Farnham Sound & Light helped us with the personalised dance floor, putting the ‘logo’ of our names across a vinyl print for some special photos during our first dance.  Our DJ was recommended by Jonny Ross Music, DJ Freddy de Lord got the music spot-on and his sax sets went down an absolute treat!

There were so many people involved in bringing the day to life, too many to list here but everyone did such an incredible job and we could not be more grateful for their efforts.

 You both looked absolutely fab!  Tell us about those suits…

We were SO happy with the way our suits turned out!!  They were made by King and Allen, a tailor we’d both highly recommend.  We felt in safe hands from the start as they had a 2-Groom wedding section on their website.

Again, looking to keep certain traditions in place, we didn’t want to see each other in our wedding outfits until the ceremony itself.  To make sure the colour of our outfits complimented each other, we visited and selected the cloth for each suit together – no one would want to see clashing suits on the day!  Once we’d picked the cloth, we followed the rest of the journey separately, visiting for fittings and adjustments at different times.

The lovely thing about having them made for us was choosing the extra details, like the bolder patterned linings and having our new surname sewn into each jacket!

Tough question, favourite part of your wedding journey?

Oooh this is an interesting question!  It actually has to be the week before the wedding, being in that bubble knowing the big day is finally approaching (we’d had nearly a 4 year wait… thanks COVID!).  I had heard from a number of people that the days ahead of the wedding could be stressful and so we were determined to be in a position that would allow us to enjoy that special time.

In the months ahead of the wedding, we worked through the ‘to-do’ list, making sure something was done every couple of days to really spread out the tasks.  It meant by the time we were a week away from the day, all we needed to do was pack and get ourselves to Surrey!

The morning of the wedding day was equally relaxed and full of excitement with Charlie (from MC) doing an *EXCEPTIONAL* job at looking after us and taking care of everything to allow us to just get ready and enjoy our time.

Any words of wisdom for future couples reading this?

We would have to say spread your to-do list over time.  It made the build up so much more enjoyable and avoided any last minute stresses.  Make sure you also plan the day for you and don’t get too caught up in what other people want/think.  While you want the guest to enjoy themselves, they will do exactly that just by seeing how happy you are on the big day.

To see even more images from Millbridge Court wedding days, then do take a look at our gallery here!

Looking to have a wonderful day out with friends and learn an incredible skill at the same time? Well, look no further; we may just be holding the perfect event for you.

 

We are so excited to be hosting Gemma Milly’s Surrey workshop here at Millbridge Court on Sunday 26^th April in our Boutique Hotel. So many people have fallen in love with the undeniable delights of calligraphy, a skill that Gemma teaches in the most beautiful and indulgent way.

 

On the day, Gemma will be introducing the group to traditional copperplate calligraphy, working through the basics of letterforms and alphabets and looking in to ink, pens, nibs and papers. There will be time to practice all of the skills learnt while Gemma shares her knowledge with each attendee individually. But not only that, little touches of luxury are added throughout. Eating and drinking is heavily encouraged in class and with the wonderful Kalm Kitchen providing the nibbles throughout, no one will be going home hungry. There is also an instashoot area with props on hand so you can share what you’ve created and learnt on the day. Gemma will then be on hand via email to follow up after the workshop and answer any questions as well as being in touch with exclusive news and tips.

 

At the end of the 3 hours, guests will have created a beautiful piece of stationery that they can take home with them; they will also be given a beautiful goody bag stuffed full of loveliness. It will include some more surprises and all of the class materials (pen holder, nibs, ink, calligraphy workbook, tracing sheets and practice sheets) so that the skills practiced can be enhanced at home.

 

Millbridge Court Brides… if you’re a creative type, this might just be the perfect skill to learn so that you can add some handcrafted touches to your big day! Or perhaps it’s the perfect gift for a friend or relative so that they can hone a new skill and have an all round fabulous day out. There are very few spaces left so do get in touch with Gemma to secure your spot at the Millbridge Court workshop.